Ann Wauters
“The power of teamwork: Lessons from the court to the workplace”
Summary
In this keynote, the audience is invited to explore the powerful concept of bouncing back. As an athlete, Ann Wauters has experienced both the highs of winning championships and the lows of losing crucial finals. These moments taught her that success isn’t just about winning, but about how we respond when things don’t go our way. For her, bouncing back is more than resilience. It’s about recovering quickly, adapting, and returning stronger. She firmly believes this is a skill that anyone can cultivate, in both sports and business, to sustain long-term success.
From there, she moves into the idea of pivoting, a concept that has been essential throughout her basketball career and personal journey. In basketball, pivoting allows a player to maintain one foot grounded while shifting direction to create a new opportunity. Ann sees a strong parallel in life and work, where the ability to pivot during moments of transition or disruption can be the difference between stagnation and growth. Whether someone is navigating a career change, a personal setback, or shifts in market dynamics, the ability to adjust strategy and keep moving forward is key.
Her journey, from a shy and introverted girl to becoming the captain of the Belgian national basketball team, is a striking example of how pivotal life moments can shape who we become. These transitions taught her invaluable leadership lessons. Wauters learned how to communicate effectively with teammates from diverse backgrounds and how to create environments in which people feel seen and valued. She believes that embracing diversity of thought is not just beneficial, but essential for innovation and success.
At the heart of this keynote lies a redefined understanding of TEAM. While many know the familiar phrase “Together Everyone Achieves More,” Ann Wauters offers a fresh perspective: Trust, Energy, Accountability, and Mindset. These four principles were instrumental in helping the Belgian Cats, Belgium’s national basketball team, achieve milestones such as reaching the Olympic semifinals. She shares concrete strategies for building trust within a team, addressing conflict, fostering accountability, and maintaining a winning mindset. According to her, these principles are just as crucial in business as they are on the court. They lay the foundation for any high-performing team.
Biography
Ann Wauters is a global icon in women’s basketball, known for her extraordinary achievements and leadership both on and off the court. Throughout her illustrious career, Ann won 4 EuroLeague titles, 1 EuroCup, 12 national championships, and a WNBA title. She was named European Player of the Year five times. With the Belgian national team, she earned a bronze medal at the European Championships and proudly captained her team at the Tokyo Olympics, where she concluded her international playing career.
Having spent over 20 years playing in elite teams across the world, Ann understands the art of teamwork like no other. Each season, she faced the challenge of building a cohesive unit with players from diverse backgrounds, striving for excellence in the highly competitive world of professional basketball. Today, she channels her experience to guide organizations in cultivating high-performing teams, drawing powerful parallels between sports and business.
"After more than two decades of playing basketball at the highest level in different teams around the world, I am passionate about sharing my knowledge on how to work successfully in teams and create high-performing environments. My goal is to inspire, motivate, and empower people to face their challenges head-on and become the best versions of themselves."
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Ann serves as the Chair of the Athletes' Commission at the Belgian Olympic Committee. She has also coached in the WNBA for the Chicago Sky and founded Assists.be, a mentorship program designed to help young, promising athletes reach their full potential by leveraging the expertise of elite athletes.